Veg box update

I’m pretty pleased with how well the vegetables that I planted on the upper balcony are doing.

I’ve never grown peas before, and only planted one window box with them, and they did very well and we are eating peas now, which is neat. My plan to have them drape down didn’t go so well, however, and I ended up putting them on the deck itself, next to the upright posts, and let them twine around that, which seemed to keep them happy. However, because they were out of the window box edging on the deck railing, they thus weren’t getting watered by the drippers, so we had to remember to water them by hand. Hopefully, we’ll have at least a couple of beds ready in the new garden next spring, and I’ll just plant peas out there.

Speaking of things not getting watered by the drippers, the tomatoes and basil plants aren’t part of that dripper run either. Both types of basil seem to thrive on that sort of neglect, though, as we remember to water them probably every other day. It’s been so hot, though, so what spurs the memory is often catching their droopy leaves from inside the house. Oops.

The tomatoes are doing great, and all of the plants have both flowers and small green tomatoes already. I remember reading the tags when I bought them, and the boasting that we’d have ready-to-eat tomatoes by the fourth of July, and clearly that hasn’t happened. But I think that’s because June was so rainy and cold, the exact opposite of our hot and dry July. But once the heat started, they started to thrive.

In all, it’s all been a success, and we enjoy having them on the balcony, so close to the kitchen. I want a serious vegetable patch so that I can plant much more, but I think we might still keep some of these going on the balcony every year, even with a real garden. It’s just so handy to snip basil for a homemade pizza, to grab lettuce for a sandwich, a few steps outside the kitchen door.